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Does investing more money into stocks increase chances of profit? | I think you are mixing up the likelihood of making a profit with the amount of profit. The likelyhood of profit will be the same, because if you buy $100 worth of shares and the price moves up you will make a profit. If you instead bought $1000 worth of the same shares at the same price and the price moved up you would... |
Why are the banks and their customers in the United States still using checks? [duplicate] | Check use is declining here too, but it still has some practical advantages over electronic means: |
Problems with Enterprise Value and better valuation techniques | This is a tough question SFun28. Let's try and debug the metric. First, let's expand upon the notion share price is determined in an efficient market where prospective buyers and sellers have access to info on an enterprises' cash balance and they may weigh that into their decision making. Therefore, a desirable/unde... |
Why buy insurance? | For big values the loss becomes negligible. Say you have a 10% chance to get 10 million $/€/Whatever, expected value 1m. You sell that chance for 990k, which loses you 10k of expected income. Why would you throw away 10k? Because in the face of getting almost 1m the 10k are insignificant, 1m and 990k will make you roug... |
Is 6% too high to trade stocks on margin? | Okay so we are assuming that you can sustain 6% or more return on your investments. Personally I would compare that rate to what lines of credit are going for and do what ever is least expensive. Either way your risk is the same. Your net worth is the same. Your assets will be the same. Your liabilities will be t... |
What is a decent rate of return for investing in the markets? | Don't ever, ever, ever let someone else handle your money, unless you want somebody else have your money. Nobody can guarantee a return on stocks. That's utter bullshit. Stock go up and down according to market emotions. How can your guru predict the market's future emotions? Keep your head cool with stocks. Only buy w... |
How can I determine if my portfolio's rate of return has been “good”, or not? | It's important to realize that any portfolio, if sufficiently diversified should track overall GDP growth, and anything growing via a percentage per annum is going to double eventually. (A good corner-of-napkin estimate is 70/the percentage = years to double). Just looking at your numbers, if you initially put in the f... |
Do financial advisors get better deals on mortgages? | Yes, maybe for themselves, but for you that depends on quite a number of things. But not all advisors are scum, but accept the fact that you are their cash cow and you are there for their takings. Some advisors are true to their professions and advise ethically, trying to get the best for their clients. So search for a... |
Are buying and selling futures based on objective data? | Let's ask another question: Why do you buy X at price $Y? Here are some answers: Now, another question: Are you guaranteed to get at least $Y worth of value when you buy X? Of course not! A lot of things can happen. Your car can be a lemon. Your pedigreed Dachshund can get run over by a snowblower. Or, the prices... |
Contract job (hourly rate) as a 1099: How much would I be making after taxes? | If it's just you working, I'd use a ballpark figure of 35% owed - it may be a little high or low, but it's a safe margin to keep set aside for paying your liabilities at the end of the year. |
UK: Personal finance book for a twenty-something | I would always recommend the intelligent investor by Benjamin Graham the mentor of warren buffet once you have a basic knowledge ie what is a share bond guilt etc In terms of pure investment the UK is fairly similar the major difference is the simpler tax structure, ISA allowance and the more generous CGT regime. |
How are stock buybacks not considered insider trading? | Another way to look at this is that pure insider trading is an activity with the aim to use secret information to make personal profit or let others make personal profit at the expense of the company shareholders or investors. In buybacks, it is not company managers to get personal gain in this would-be "insider tradin... |
Is this investment opportunity problematic? | Adding to what others have said, if the mortgage for the new house is backed by the federal government (e.g., through FHA or is to be sold to Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac) you would be violating 18 USC § 1001, which makes making intentionally false statements to any agent or branch of the federal government a crime punishabl... |
Does an employee have the right to pay the federal and state taxes themselves instead of having employer doing it? | You can file a revised W-4 with your employer claiming more allowances than you do now. More allowances means less Federal tax and (if applicable and likely with a separate form) less state tax. This doesn't affect social security and Medicare with holding, though. That being said, US taxes are on a pay-as-you-go syst... |
Are these scenarios considered as taxable income? | For case 1, there is no tax due as you sold the book for less than your cost basis. If you had sold for more than $100, then you would have had a profit. For case 2, that depends on the value of the gift card with respect to the value of your fare. Most likely that gift card is less than the cost of the fare. And in th... |
What does “balance sheet banks” mean in this context? | The balance sheet for a bank is the list of assets and liabilities that the bank directly is responsible for. This would be things like loans the bank issues and accounts with the bank. Banks can make both "balance sheet" loans, meaning a loan that says on the balance sheet - one the bank gains the profits from but ho... |
What are “trailing 12-month total returns”? | ( t2 / t1 ) - 1 Where t2 is the value today, t1 is the value 12 months ago. Be sure to include dividend payments, if there were any, to t2. That will give you total return over 12 months. |
Will a credit card issuer cancel an account if it never incurs interest? | Some years ago a call center operator told me a bit more than they probably should have. They like to see a lot of money go through the card, but very little staying on the card. Yes, they make money on the interest but one card defaulting blows away the profit on a lot of other cards. The 3% take from the merchants i... |
Question about Tax Information from a Prospectus | At the end of each calendar year the mutual fund company will send you a 1099 form. It will tell you and the IRS what your account earned. You will see boxes for: You will end up paying taxes on these, unless the fund is part of a 401K or IRA. These taxes will be due even if you never sold any shares. They are due even... |
As a 22-year-old, how risky should I be with my 401(k) investments? | Whatever you do, don't take your retirement savings to Vegas. Second, you should also consider investment expenses. Your investments profit after the managers pay themselves. Get the lowest expense ratio mutual funds you can. Third, most active managers do not beat the market. Index funds are your friends. They also te... |
Car dealer saying that they cannot see any credit information for my co-applicant. Could this be a scam? | I actually had a similar situation when I tried to buy my house. I paid off all my loans and was proud of my "debt free" status. I had no car note, no student loans... absolutely no debt, but I did have a bank-issued credit card. (USAA, not Chase, but I assume the same may apply). When I tried to get a home loan they... |
Sage Instant Accounts or Quickbooks? | The company I work with uses Intuit QuickBooks Online and have had zero problems with it. The functionality is effective and it fits the size of our company as well. (Not huge, but I wouldn't consider it a 'small business') Also, you can try a 30 day free trial. QuickBooks Simple Start focuses on small business account... |
Fringe Benefits (Lodging) for single member S-Corp | If you use "a room or other separately identifiable space" within your apartment exclusively for your business, then you might be able to recoup a fraction of your rent for that. Check the rules for home office at the IRS and adopt a consistent and well-documented approach. (I would pay your full rent out of your perso... |
Want to buy expensive product online. Credit line on credit cards not big enough. How do “Preferred Account” programs work? | The preferred accounts are designed to hope you do one of several things: Pay one day late. Then charge you all the deferred interest. Many people think If they put $X a month aside, then pay just before the 6 months, 12 moths or no-payment before 2014 period ends then I will be able to afford the computer, carpet, or... |
How are people able to spend more than what they make, without going into debt? | I don't know about Jeff Bezos in particular but, in general, and with a a few other notorious exceptions like Warren Buffet, billionaires also have incomes (salary, dividends, fees to seat on various boards of directors, etc.) in the millions, not the tens of thousand. That's typically still much lower than their wealt... |
Is expense to freelancers tax deductible? | Yes, but make sure you issue a 1099 to these freelancers by 1/31/2016 or you may forfeit your ability to claim the expenses. You will probably need to collect a W-9 from each freelancer but also check with oDesk as they may have the necessary paperwork already in place for this exact reason. Most importantly, consult ... |
Zero volatility stocks in intraday trading in India | you need to use easy programming language to imply onto a scan where you enter Scan all stocks display if volume < (less than) 100 |
Why buy insurance? | The definition of insurance is the transfer of risk. Thus, you're paying for transferring of a risk (of an item/property) to the insurer (carrier), so that they bear the financial burden of a loss/accident and not you. You could always self-insure, but a lot of times, insurance is cheaper, since due to the "Law of Larg... |
How does one typically exit (close out) a large, in-the-money long put option position? | While open interest usually correlates to volume, the mark of liquidity is the bid ask spread. Even when trading options with spreads as large as an ask 2x the bid, a more realistic price that traders are willing to accept lies somewhere in the middle. Any option can easily be exited at intrinsic value: underlying pric... |
Is it possible to buy stock as a gift for a minor without involving the guardians? | This is an old question, but a new product has popped up that provides an alternative answer. There is a website called stockpile.com that allows you to purchase "stock gift certificates" for others. These come in both electronic and traditional physical form. This meets my question's original criteria of a gift give... |
Any experience with maxing out 401(k)? | I second CrimsonX's advice to max out Roth then 401k. At your age in what sounds like a similar situation I did the same thing -- thankfully. It's easier to do when you're young and unencumbered. 10 years later with kids, house, changing from double to single income, job changes, etc, it's harder to max out retirement ... |
Is technical analysis based on some underlying factors in the market or do they work simply because other people use them? | Both explanations are partly true. There are many investors who do not want to sell an asset at a loss. This causes "resistance" at prices where large amounts of the asset were previously traded by such investors. It also explains why a "break-through" of such a "resistance" is often associated with a substantial "mo... |
Is it normal to think of money in different “contexts”? | Here's how I think about money. There are only 3 categories / contexts (buckets) that my earned money falls into. Savings is my emergency fund. I keep 6 months of total expenses (expenses are anything in the consumption bucket). You can be as detailed as you want with this area but I tend to leave a fudge factor. In ot... |
Are stock prices likely drop off a little bit on a given friday afternoon? | It is called the Monday Effect or the Weekend Effect. There are a number of similar theories including the October Effect and January Effect. It's all pretty much bunk. If there were any truth to traders would be all over it and the resulting market forces would wipe it out. Personally, I think all technical analysis h... |
Looking for advice on rental property | You say that one property is 65% of the value of the two properties and the other is 35%. But how much of that do the two of you actually own? If you have co-signed mortgages on both properties, then your equity is going to be lower. If you sold both properties, then your take away would be just half of that equity.... |
Is there a way to set a stop for a stock before you own it? | Yes it is possible, as long as the broker you use allows conditional orders. I use CMC Markets in Australia, and they allow free conditional orders either when initially placing a buy order or after already buying a stock. See the Place New Order box below: Once you have selected a stock to buy, the number of shares y... |
Why real estate investments are compared via “cap rate”? | Cap Rate is the yearly return NOT including your mortgage. Everyone will finance the property differently. From 0% - 100% down. This is why Cap Rate is the best way to compare properties. Once you include your finance it is then called Cash-On Cash Return (CCR). |
Is debt almost always the cause of crashes and recessions? | The root cause can be said to always be a crisis in confidence. It may be due to a very real event. However, confidence is what pushes the markets up and worries are what bring them down. |
How to invest a small guaranteed monthly income? | In my opinion, you can't save too much for retirement. An extra $3120/yr invested at 8% for 30 years would give you $353K more at retirement. If your "good amount in my 401k" is a hint that you don't want us to go in that direction, then how about saving for the child's college education? 15 years' savings, again at 8... |
Options price vs implied volatility - who drives who? | Currently, when "implied volatility" is spoken, the Black-Scholes-Merton model is implied. This model has been shown to be deficient, thus the Variance Gamma Model should be used. However, as nearly no one uses VG, it can be assumed that BS is still being implied. The BS formula has multiple variables. Some are exter... |
In a competitive market, why is movie theater popcorn expensive? | I'm kind of shocked that no formal behavioral modeling has been proposed as an explanation yet. One such model would be steep (hyperbolic, quasi-hyperbolic) discounting. Consumers would rather pay for popcorn later than for an expensive movie ticket now. For instance, consumers might when purchasing the ticket see a ... |
Newbie question - Brokerage and selling shares | Capital gains tax is an income tax upon your profit from selling investments. Long-term capital gains (investments you have held for more than a year) are taxed significantly less than short-term gains. It doesn't limit how many shares you can sell; it does discourage selling them too quickly after buying. You can bal... |
Does the IRS reprieve those who have to commute for work? | You cannot deduct expenses directly. However, your employer may participate in programs to allow you to make a pretax deduction capped at $255 per month to pay for certain commuting expenses. For personal car commuters the main category is to pay for parking. IRS guidelines Qualified Transportation Benefits This ex... |
Explain the HSI - why do markets sometimes appear in sync and other times not? | why do markets sometimes appear in sync, but during other times, not so much By "markets" I'm assuming you mean equity indices such as the HSI. Financial products fluctuate with respect to the supply/demand of the traders. There's been a large increase in the number of hedge funds, prop desks who trade relative values ... |
What are the marks of poor investment advice? | If you see something that looks like a sales pitch, be skeptical, even if they sound informed, say things which resonate with your concerns and promise to alleviate your problems. Watch out in particular for people who pontificate about matters which are tangentially related to the investment (e.g. populist anti-Wall-S... |
How do you find reasonably priced, quality, long lasting clothing? | According to this http://shine.yahoo.com/event/financiallyfit/cheapest-days-to-shop-online-2301854/ Tuesday is the best day of the week to buy men's apparel. |
How fast does the available amount of gold in the world increase due to mining? | Approximately 5.3 billion ounces have been mined. This puts the total value of all gold in the world at about $9.5 trillion, based on $1800/oz. Total world net worth was $125T in 2006. There's an odd thing that happens when one asset's value is suddenly such a large percent of all assets. (This reminds me of how and wh... |
Why do some people go through contortions to avoid paying taxes, yet spend money on expensive financial advice, high-interest loans, etc? | An example, where I live. When you buy a house, the seller wants 'black' money. This is because that way the seller pays less taxes. However, it's not smart for the buyer to pay in black, as the tax reductions are lower. Eventually, when the buyer tries to sell the house, he has to declare the difference, so a higher b... |
What is the best asset allocation for a retirement portfolio, and why? | Take the easy approach - as suggested by John Bogle (founder of Vanguard - and a man worthy of tremendous respect). Two portfolios consisting of 1 index fund each. Invest your age% in the Fixed Income index fund. Invest (1-age)% in the stock index fund. Examples of these funds are the Total Market Index Fund (VTSMX) a... |
Not paying cash for a house | You could use the money to buy a couple of other (smaller) properties. Part of the rent of these properties would be used to cover the mortgage and the rest is income. |
Yahoo Finance shows incorrect data | Yes, I see the same problem. Google's version seems to be correct, however. |
Was this bill forgotten by a medical provider, and do notices need to be sent before collections? | Sometimes I think a question like this is one of moral versus legal. The reality is that you know you owe the money because you received the services. You're right that the bill should have been sent to you, and the natural urge for many people is to just count it in the win column when things like this happen and th... |
Does it make any sense to directly contribute to reducing the US national debt? | At its heart, I think the best spirit of "donation" is helping others less fortunate than yourself. But as long as the US remains solvent, the chief benefit of paying down the national debt is - like paying off a credit card - lowering the future interest payments the U.S. taxpayer has to make. Since the wealthy pay a ... |
Should I open a credit card when I turn 18 just to start a credit score? | No, don't open a credit card. Get used to paying cash for everything from the beginning. The best situation you can be in is not to have any credit. When it comes time to buy a house, put down %30 percent and your 0 credit score won't matter. This will keep you within your means, and, with governments gathering more an... |
Free service for automatic email stock alert when target price is met? | http://finance.yahoo.com/stock-alerts/stock-watch/add/?.done=/stock-alerts/ You will have to have a yahoo account. If you want to provide an alternative delivery email address, visit the URL above. Click "Stocks Watch", enter ticker(s) and price(s) at which you want alerts, then at the bottom select the "email" radio b... |
How do I determine if sale proceeds from an asset are taxable? | Profit = Sale price - Basis Basis = Purchase price - any depreciation taken, including expensing it. |
Is candlestick charting an effective trading tool in timing the markets? | Candlesticks and TA are a relic of pre-computer trading, period. Market makers use sophisticated algorithms not for trading, but manipulations. |
Loan to son - how to get it back | A few ideas. I suggest it would wise to consider what lesson is learned as a result of any resolution of a financial issue. Is it a lesson of responsibility and of the importance of keeping one's word, or of getting away with whatever happens (poorly planned business) with no adverse consequences. "No" consequences (e.... |
Does it make sense to refinance a 30 year mortgage to 15 years? | You don't say what the time remaining on the current mortgage is, nor the expense of the refi. There are a number of traps when doing the math. Say you have 10 years left on a 6% mortgage, $200K balance. I offer you a 4% 30 year. No cost at all. A good-intentioned person would do some math as follows: Please look at t... |
Do I need to report to FInCEN if I had greater than $10,000 worth of bitcoin in a foreign bitcoin exchange? | Firstly you have to know exactly what you are asking here. What you have if you "own" bitcoins is a private key that allows you to make a change to the blockchain that can assign a piece of information from yourself to the next person. Nothing more nothing less. The fact that this small piece of information is consid... |
Why does gold have value? | A lot of people probably don't agree with him, but Warren Buffett has some great quotes on why he doesn't invest in gold: I will say this about gold. If you took all the gold in the world, it would roughly make a cube 67 feet on a side…Now for that same cube of gold, it would be worth at today’s market prices about... |
What are my investment options in Australia? | If you want higher returns you may have to take on more risk. From lowest returns (and usually lower risk) to higher returns (and usually higher risk), Bank savings accounts, term deposits, on-line savings accounts, offset accounts (if you have a mortgage), fixed interest eg. Bonds, property and stock markets. If you ... |
As an American working in the UK, do I have to pay taxes on foreign income? | Yes. You do have to pay taxes in the UK as well but it depends on how much you have already been taxed in the US. http://taxaid.org.uk/situations/migrant-workernew-to-the-uk/income-from-abroad-arising-basis-vs-remittance-basis Say, you have to pay 20% tax in the UK for your earnings here. You ARE required to pay the sa... |
Fund equalisation / dividend | What you are describing is a very specific case of the more general principle of how dividend payments work. Broadly speaking, if you own common shares in a corporation, you are a part owner of that corporation; you have the right to a % of all of that corporation's assets. The value in having that right is ultimately ... |
What's the difference between stocks and shares? | For all practical purposes the words mean the same thing. Shares are just stock in a particular company whereas stock can refer to shares over many companies. Investopedia has a good explaination. If you are a financial journalist you might want to make sure you are using the right term at the right time, but otherwis... |
When a stock price rises, does the company get more money? | Not directly. But companies benefit in various ways from a higher stock price. One way a high stock price can hurt a company is that many companies do share buybacks when the price is too high. Economically speaking, a company should only buy back shares when those shares are undervalued. But, management may have incen... |
Shareholder in US based company | Companies need to go public before you can buy their shares on a public stock exchange, but all companies have shares, even if there's only one share. And anyone who owns those shares can give them to whoever they like (there are generally restrictions on selling shares in unlisted companies to unsophisticated investor... |
If I plan to buy a car in cash, should I let the dealer know? | In the UK at least, dealers definitely want you to take finance. They get benefits from the bank (which are not insubstantial) for doing this; these benefits translate directly to increased commission and internal rewards for the individual salesman. It's conceivable that the salesman will be less inclined to put himse... |
Tax implications of diversification | Yes, to change which stocks you owe you need to sell one and buy the other, which for tax purposes means taking the profit or loss accrued up to then. On the other hand this establishes a new baseline, so you will not be double-faced on those gains. It just makes a mess of this year's tax return, and forced you to set ... |
What to do when a job offer is made but with a salary less than what was asked for? | In my experience of doing software development for a little longer than I care to remember, salaries are always assumed to be negotiable. I know you said you don't like haggling (a lot of people don't) but you'll have to get used to that and you might have to be a little more flexible. Being able to negotiate something... |
Why does the share price tend to fall if a company's profits decrease, yet remain positive? | You are omitting how the company made 120 million in the previous year and may be facing a shrinking market and thus have poor future prospects. If the company is shrinking, what will the shares be worth down the road. Remember companies like AOL or Blackberry? There was a time they had big profits before things change... |
Do common stocks and preferred stocks have any differences in terms of percentage of the company per unit they represent? | Typically, preferred shares come with one or both different benefits - a disproportionate share of votes, say 10 votes per share vs the normal 1, or a preferred dividend. The vote preference is great for the owner(s) looking to go public, but not lose control of the company. Say, I am a Walton (of Walmart fame) and wh... |
Which types of insurances do I need to buy? | Can you afford to replace your home if it suffers major damage in a fire or earthquake? Is your home at risk of flooding? In the United States, one can purchase insurance for each of these risks, but the customer has to ask about each of them. (Most default American homeowners policies cover fire and wind damage, bu... |
Do I need another health insurance policy? | Most of the points by MrChrister are valid. I can't say much for Philippines, however there is a reason for one to go with individual insurance from my experience in India. |
When should I start saving/investing for my retirement? | My basic rule I tell everyone who will listen is to always live like you're a college student - if you could make it on $20k a year, when you get your first "real" job at $40k (eg), put all the rest into savings to start (401(k), IRA, etc). Gradually increase your lifestyle expenses after you hit major savings goals (3... |
Calculating the profit earned from a leveraged futures contract | I'm not entirely sure about some of the details in your question, since I think you meant to use $10,000 as the value of the futures contract and $3 as the value of the underlying stock. Those numbers would make more sense. That being said, I can give you a simple example of how to calculate the profit and loss from a ... |
How can I stop a merchant from charging a credit card processing fee? | You can report the violation to the payment network (i.e., Mastercard or Visa). For instance here is a report form for Visa and here is one for MasterCard. I just found those by googling; there are no doubt other ways of contacting the companies. Needless to say, you shouldn't expect that this will result in an immed... |
Can I prove having savings without giving out the account number? | Giving out your bank account number is not generally a security problem. The first time you write your landlord a security deposit or rent check, he'll have your account number. (It's printed on the check.) That having been said, in my experience, banks do not generally give out balance information to just anyone who... |
Are there any countries where citizens are free to use any currency? | Shops in most touristic places tend to accept major currencies (at least dollar and euro). I remember a trip in Istanbul before the euro existed, the kids selling postcards near the blue mosque were able to guess your country and announce in your language the price in your currency. |
Reason for “qualified” buyer requirements to exercise stock options/rights spun off from parent company? | Accredited investors are required to have 1 million in assets (not including primary residence) or $200,000/yr income for the last 3 years. These kinds of regulations come from the SEC, not the company involved, which means the SEC thinks it's a risky investment. If I recall correctly, [someone I know] had to submit ev... |
What can I replace Microsoft Money with, now that MS has abandoned it? | www.mint.com is a very good web site that can upload your financial data from your bank and analyze it for you. Security concerns seem to have been addressed reassuringly. |
How can all these countries owe so much money? Why & where did they borrow it from? | They borrowed it from the people, and typically to finance wars and military spending. For example, Wikipedia suggests that the Bank of England "was set up to supply money to the King. £1.2m was raised in 12 days; half of this was used to rebuild the Navy." It's a game that everyone has to play once started; if Napoleo... |
Can I deduct the cost of software and/or computer that I need to do my job? | Yes, this is a miscellaneous itemized deduction. https://www.irs.gov/publications/p529/ar02.html For this to impact your taxes, you have to be itemizing deductions (have total deductions greater than standard deduction), and the total of all miscellaneous deductions needs to exceed the "2% floor" described in the IRS l... |
Do “Instant Approved” credit card inquires appear on credit report? | Businesses you are already established with may do a soft pull to pre-qualify you for an offer. They store the information and if you accept, may instantly setup and account. You may also see language to the effect that they may do an inquiry (hard pull) - I guess if their data is old. When you went outside of Amazo... |
In the UK, could low-income pensioners (or those near a low-income retirement) find a student loan useful for boosting their finances? | In theory - Yes. So as long as someone will accept you as a (very) mature student, you plan to never earn over 21k a year for the next 30 years (no longer wiped out at 65), you could get a loan, slightly unethically (unless you fancy doing the course). Also if you did have to start paying it back - since interest rates... |
Is this formula accurate for weighing the difference between an S-Corp and LLC? | It might be best to step back and look at the core information first. You're evaluating an LLC vs a Corporation (both corporate entities). Both have one or more members, and both are seen similarly (emphasis on SIMILAR here, they're not all the same) to the IRS. Specifically, LLC's can opt for a pass-through tax sys... |
Is compounding interest on investments a myth? | Compound growth isn't a myth, it just takes patience to experience. A 10% annual return will double the investment not in 10 years, but just over 7. Even though a mortgage claims to use simple interest, if your loan is 5% and there's 14 years to go, $100 extra principal will knock off $200 from the final payment. The... |
Retirement Savings vs. Student Loan payments | Your plan sounds quite sound to me. I think that between the choices of [$800 for Loans, $300 for Retirement] and [$1100 for loans], both are good choices and you aren't going to go wrong either way. Some of the factors you might want to consider: I like your retirement savings choices - I myself use the admiral ver... |
Paying over the minimum mortgage payment | take a look at this graph here: http://mortgagevista.com/#m=1&a=40000&b=4&c=30y&B&oa&ob&oc&od It shows how much it costs to borrow $40k for 30 years. You did not post your mortgage rate or loan term, so I used 4% over 30 years (you can easily update this with your actual details). While this does not show the costs of ... |
What is the contribution limit for a SEP-IRA? | Both are saying essentially the same thing. The Forbes articles says "as much as 20% [...] up to a maximum of $50,000". This means the same as what the IRS page when it says the lesser of a percentage of your income or a total of $53,000. In other words, the $53k is a cap: you can contribute a percentage of your ear... |
Advantages/Disadvantages to refinancing online? | If you've been in your house for a few years (and have built some equity up) and the market is active in your area, online is probably fine. The local banks will be better if it's not obvious to someone in Bangor, ME that your neighborhood in San Diego is worth substantially more than the crappy area 2 miles away. I've... |
How to deal with the credit card debt from family member that has passed away? | First, if it is in any way a joint account, the debt usually goes to the surviving person. Assets in joint accounts usually have their own instructions on how to disperse the assets; for example, full joint bank accounts usually immediately go to the other name on the account and never become part of the estate. Non-ca... |
Why is RSU tax basis based on remaining shares after shares are witheld? | Here is how it should look: 100 shares of restricted stock (RSU) vest. 25 shares sold to pay for taxes. W2 (and probably paycheck) shows your income going up by 100 shares worth and your taxes withheld going up by 25 shares worth. Now you own 75 shares with after-tax money. If you stop here, there would be no stock sal... |
How can one relatively easily show that low expense ratio funds outperform high expense ratio funds? | I hope a wall of text with citations qualifies as "relatively easy." Many of these studies are worth quoting at length. Long story short, a great deal of research has found that actively-managed funds underperform market indexes and passively-managed funds because of their high turnover and higher fees, among other fac... |
Difference between Edward Jones or Betterment | Instead of saying which one is better, which is too subjective, I think it is more important to understand what these institutions are. They are kind of different animals. Edward Jones pretty much a full service wealth manager. They meet with you in person, advise you on what retirement and savings accounts to get, t... |
I spend too much money. How can I get on the path to a frugal lifestyle? | My father imparted this advice to me when I was a teenager, and it hasn't failed me yet. > Pay yourself first What this means is that the first "bill" you pay should always be your savings. Preferably in a way that automatically comes out of your paycheck or account without requiring you to take an active step to make ... |
Getting correlation from regression slope (Completely stumped) | I just used the formula in below link and did some math. I have that book too but haven't looked at it yet really. Lots of maths to have fun with. Let me know if this is correct or needs fixing. Source: http://wiki.fool.com/How_to_Calculate_Beta_From_Volatility_%26_Correlation |
Connection between gambling and trading on stock/options/Forex markets | There is economic value added to the marketplace, by having many investors trading stocks. The stock market itself can be thought of as a tool which provides additional 'liquidity' to the marketplace. Liquidity is the ease with which you can convert your assets into cash (for example, how quickly could you sell your ca... |
Is it possible to trade CFD without leverage? | You can but there is no point trading CFD's seeing you may still lose more than your investment due to slippage |
How much life insurance do I need? | Life Insurance can be a difficult decision. We have to first assess the "want" for it vs. the "need" for it, and that differs from person to person. Any Life licensed agent should be happy to do this calculation for you at no cost and no obligation. Just be sure you are well educated in the subject to make sure they... |
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